Few fighters have had more bad luck than Leon Edwards in 2020.
Edwards was all set to face Tyron Woodley in the biggest fight of his career, headlining at the O2 Arena in his nation’s capital, before UFC London was the first event to fall through in March once the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic started to grip the country.
“Rocky” looked like he wasn’t going to fight this year at all until he was seemingly one of the few fighters willing to take on one of this year’s stars in Khamzat Chimaev.
That fight was set for 19 December and would have headlined one of the most intriguing cards of 2020. However, COVID-19 struck once again to dash Edwards’ plans.
A day after rumours swirled about Chimaev contracting the coronavirus, it was confirmed that Edwards had tested positive and was out of the contest to round off a pretty miserable year of no competition for Edwards.
The Birmingham native, who is riding an eight-fight win streak in the UFC’s competitive welterweight division, had this to say after the news.
Another setback, but when you come from the mud you learn to put everything in perspective. This virus has affected many lives and families much worse than mine. Looking forward to getting this rebooked soon, thank you all for the well wishes
— Leon ‘Rocky’ Edwards (@Leon_edwardsmma) December 2, 2020
“Another setback, but when you come from the mud you learn to put everything in perspective,” Edwards wrote on social media. “This virus has affected many lives and families much worse than mine. Looking forward to getting this rebooked soon, thank you all for the well wishes.”
Chimaev was respectful in his response to the disappointing news.
It’s thought that the UFC will move to reschedule the fight in early 2021 to scratch the fighting itch of both men, though no concrete news has come out about a new date for their re-booked bout as yet.